"It's better to be good."
Is it?
Better according to what? And what do you mean by better — and by good?
Leaders should always listen.
Should they? Based on what?
If you look at the way we communicate as humans, you will quickly see that much of what we say in everyday exchanges lives in the realm of assumptions stated as facts, ideas presented as truths, and people judged by standards we never even explain to ourselves — standards mostly inherited without conscious thought.
We speak these rules and live by these statements, repeating them to each other, often without question. And they spill into how the world looks to us.
Good and bad. Right and wrong. Beautiful and ugly.
These are entirely relative notions.
Is the lion bad for eating the gazelle? Is the wind bad for breaking the tree? Is it wrong to want money? Is it better to be a monk?
How do you measure these things? And based on what do you measure them?
These statements are relative and circumstantial.
Most people would say killing someone is wrong - yet if someone were breaking into your home, about to kill your entire family, and you could only stop them by killing them, many of those same people would now say you did the right thing.
But if your highest value is non-violence, and you believe in allowing God's will, it might be deemed wrong again.
This is not a moral statement. You believe what you believe. What I want you to see is that all these notions are relative.
When you look at nature, it operates largely without our morality or ideals. Change culture, and what one group finds despicable, another considers normal.
We have these rules not because they are objectively right, but usually to simplify living — to give ourselves something to hold onto, to avoid having to think and inquire into everything.
That's fine. But then — how should my company be run?
Google it. There are approximately 4.15 billion search results and over 100,000 published books dedicated to business management, corporate governance, and how to run a company.
Which one is right?
There is a great appeal to simple answers. They put our thoughts to rest. But they can also stop you from discovering how things actually work, because you are operating by rules you never chose, rules that made sense for a situation that was different from yours.
"Just tell me what to do."
This is an internal state we often fall into, especially when confronted with the complexity of relativity, a major decision about the direction of a company, a personal life, or what to eat.
But there is a process that gets us out of this rut of undefined terms and into genuine creative thinking.
Instead of asking what is better or worse, good or bad, define the term. At least then you know what you mean by it.
If you want people to be healthier, first define what healthy means. Healthy according to what? You need your relative measurements.
If you say you want your company to be successful, successful according to what? Relative to what?
Define what you mean.
If you use the word good, define it. If you use the word bad, define it. Don't stay in vague language in a relative world.
You will lose much of your ability to communicate effectively and to act effectively as you chase undefined finish lines that allow you to never arrive, because you never knew what you were actually trying to reach.
"Do better next time" becomes "here is specifically how to do better next time" — because you have actually thought it through and can now communicate it.
To others. And to yourself.
What am I trying to achieve? What does that mean? What does it look like? How would I know I'm doing it? How would they know they're doing it?
Defining your words makes you a more capable communicator and actor.